Good Wednesday May twentieth as we open God’s word to learn His love and truths.
Felix just listen to us-
A Jewish corporate lawyer who was experienced in the Roman courts, Tertullus stands before the governor Felix and butters him up, calling him the most noble. Now truth being told, the Jews despised the Romans believing their Messiah would come armed to release them from this captivity and put the Romans in their place, but Tertullus says oh most noble, then says thank you for allowing us to come before you, standing there with Ananias the eighty year old high priest from Jerusalem. But then Tertullus opens the offensive strategy, he says, “I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.” He butters Felix up with flattery words then looks at him with the eighty year old Ananias sitting behind him and says this is an easy case oh most high, won’t take much of your time, as we are the ones who have the truth, we are Jews and we are honest Godly men, and after we share with you, you can quickly be released from this case and get back to important things. Let’s read together from Acts 24:5-9 “For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law. But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.” And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.”
Let’s look into the words from this lawyer representing the Sanhedrin in Caesarea.
“For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension” stop Acts 23:7b “a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.” Acts 23:9b “And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.” Now no ways were they in agreement as there was dissention between them as to what they believed about Paul. But Tertullus who is speaking for Ananias himself wants Paul dead, proved this by him coming to Caesarea at his age. Tertullus who has told Felix, we are the lawful honest ones just listen to us, opens with lies against Paul. He accuses Paul of three main crimes, stirring up riots throughout the empire, being the main person the ringleader of a Nazarene sect, and attempting to desecrate the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The way Tertullus lays out Paul’s crimes all three are formidable and illegal under Roman laws. First stirring others up is a political offense against Rome, then a religious crime against the temple placed in the middle, finally leading a group, a sect which was an act directly against Rome, which was a death sentence. Then Tertulllus says that Lysias the commander “came by and with great violence took him out of our hands” as Lysias wanted to pronounce judgment as he found Paul guilty, even more lies, Lysias saved Paul from being killed by these Jews. Felix, closed case right? The accusations are built on lies, he says just listen to us we are believable. We surely need to know the truth. Do you look to truths first? Remnant
